Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1887-12-08

'Oh That one W.1uld give me drink OF the wa
ter OF the well Of Bethlehem which is by the
gate"
Again, this Gospel well. Ike the one spoken
OF In the text, Il q captured well David re-
membered the time when that good water Of
Bethlehem was In the possession OF his ances-
tors, His father drank there, his mother
drank there. He remembered how the water
tasted when he was boy, and came up there
from play. We never forget the old well we
used to drink out Of when we were Soys orgirls.
There was something in il that blessed the
hrs and refreshed the brow better tnan anv
thing we have found since. As we think OF
that dear old well the memories IT the past
flow into each other like crystalline drons.
sun-glinted. and all the more as we remember
that the hands that used to hold the rope,
and the hearts that beat against the we'll
curb are still now. We never get owe r these
reniniscences George p. Morris, the
once once said aid to me that his SOu%y' sony
"Woodman spare that tree" was sung
In great concert hall, and the memories Of
early life were so wrought upon the audience
by that song that, after the singing was done.
an aged man arose in the audience, over
whelmea with emotion, and said: "Sir, will
you please TO tell me whether the woodman
really spared the treeP We never forget this
tree under which we played. We never for
get the fountain at which we drank Alas
for the man who has no early memo ries
David thought Of that well, that bovhood
well and he wanted drink Of it, but he re-
membered that the Philistines had captured
1t. When those three men tried to come up
to the well In behalf of David, they saw
swords cleaning around about it. And this
Is true Of this Gospel well. The Philistines
have at times captured it. When we come to
take full, old-fashioued drink OF pardon and
comfort, do not their swords Of Indignation
and sarcasm fiashl Why, the skeptics tell
US that we cannot come to that fountainl
They say the water IL not fit TO drink any
how. "If you are really thirsty now, there
is the well of philosophy there is the well of
art, there Is the well of SCIENCE They try
to substitute, instead Of our boyhood faith, q
modern mixture They say great
many beautiful things about the soul,
and they try to feed our immor-
tsl hunger on rose leaves, and miz
mint julep Of worldly stimulants, when
nothing will satisfy us but "a drink of the
water Of the well Of Bethlehem, which Is at
the gate" They try to starve us on husks,
when the Fathers banquet Is reedy, and the
best ring is taken from the casket, and the
sweetest harp is struck for the music,
and the swiftest foot is already lifted
for the dance. They patronizs
heaven and abolish hell, and try to measure
OF the great God with their yard-stick!
abhor it. tell you the old Gospel well is a
captured well. pray God that there may
be somewhere in the elect host three an
nointed men, with courage enough to go
forth in the strength of the omni-
potent Sod, with the glittering swords
again to that old well. 1 think the tide d
turning, and that the old Gospel is to take its
place again in the family, and in the univer-
sity, and in the legislative hall. Men have
tried worldly PHILOSOPHERS, and have found
out that they do not give any comfort and
that they drop an arctic midnight upon the
death pillow They fail when there is a
dead child in the house; and when the SOU
comes to leap into the fathomless ocean OF
eternity, they give to the man not so much
as broken spar to cling to. Depend upon
it, that well will come into our possession
again, though it has been captured If there
be not three anointed men IN the Lords
host with enough conservation to do the work,
then the swords will leap from Jehovah's
buckler, and the eternal three will descend
God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy
Ghost for our dying race the
way back again to "the water of the well of
Bethlehem, which is by the gote.n eff God
be for us, who can be against usl" 'tIf God
| spared not his own Son, but freely gave him up
for us all how shall he not with him also freely
give us all thingsp "For | am persuaded
that neither height nor depth, nor angels,
nor municipalities, nor powers, nor things
present, nor things to come shall take from
us, into final captivity, the Gospel of my
blessed Lord Jesus Christ.
Again, the Gospel well, like the one spoken
of in my text, Is well at the gate. The
traveller stops the camel to-day, and gets
down and dips out of the valley of the East,
| some very beautiful, clear, bright water, and
| that is out of the very well that David longed
| for. Do you know that that well was at
| the gate, so that nobody could go into
Bethlehem without going right past ito And
so it is with this Gospel well-it is at the gate.
It is, in the first place. at the gate of purifica-
tion. We cannot wash away our sins unless
| with that water. l take the responsibility
of saying that there is no man, woman, or
child in this house to-day that
has escaped sinful deflement. Do you
! say it is outrageous and ungallant
| for me to make such a chargea Do you
say: :" / have never stolen-I have never
blasphemed-I have never committed un-
| chastity-I have never been guilty OF
murder n I reply, you have committed O
| sin worse than blasphemy, worse than un-
chastity, worse than theft worse than MUIR
| der We have all committed it. We
| have by our sins re-crucified the Lord, and
that is decide And if there be any who dare
to plead "not guilty to the Indictment, then
the hosts Of heaven will be empaneled as a
jury to render q unanimous verdict against
us; guilty one, guilty all. With what slash
ing stroke that one passage cuts us away
from all our pretensions There is none
that doeth good-no, not one" "Oh," says
some one, "all we want, all the race wants
is DEVELOPMENT Now / want to tell you
that the race develops without the Gospel into
Sodom, a Five Points, great Salt Lake
City 1t always develops downward, ano
never upward, except as the grace of God lay:
hold of it. What, then, is to become of our sou
without Christi Banishment. Disaster. Bu'
I bless my Lord Jesus Christ that there is 9
well at the gate of publication. For grea
sin, great pardon. For eighty years OF trans
gression, an eternity..of forgiveness. For crim
deep as hell, an atonement high as heaven
that where sin abounded, so grace may mucl
more abound; that as sin reigned unto death
even SO may grace reign through righteous
ness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ, ou
Lord Angel Of the Covenant, dip thy win,
in this living fountain oday, and wave
over this solemn assemblage, that our soul
may be washed in ''the water of the well o
Bethlehem, which is by the gate"
Further, remark that this well OF tn
Gospel is at the gate Of comfort Do yo
|; know where David was when he uttered tn
words of the text! He was in the cave o
Adullam. That is where some of you ar
now. Has the world always gone smoothl.
With youl Has II never pursued 20
WIN slanderi Is your health alway
9nodJ Have your fortunes neve
nar1heda Are your children all alive an
wells Is there no dead lamb in the fold
Are you ignorant of the way to the cemetery
: Have you never heard the bell toll when
seemed as if every stroke of the iron clappe
beat your heart? Are the skies as bright whe